I Know Who You Are
by JayaLynne
Summary: A month after Endor and after the events at Bakura, Luke is still struggling with how to think about everything that has happened. (Mini scene 3, 4 ABY)


Tycho watched Wes repeatedly bounce a small ball off the wall of the temporary Rogue Squadron office. "How long are you going to keep doing that?" he asked.

"I'm bored," Wes said.

"I can find something for you to do," Tycho said.

"But I found _this_ to do," Wes said.

Tycho threw an amused glance at Hobbie's chuckle. "Okay, how about -"

_Knock knock_

Tycho glanced up at the door. "It's open!" he called.

The door slid open and Luke poked his head inside. "Hi guys," he said. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Never!" Wes missed his ball as he jumped up to give Luke a hug.

"No, of course you're not interrupting," Tycho said as he pulled Luke inside. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if I could borrow a quiet corner of your office." Luke held up some datapads. "I've got all these Bakura reports, and they're overdue -"

"Yeah, sure, you can have the whole thing if you want," Tycho said. "We're all on downtime anyway."

"Oh, I don't want to kick you out."

"Wes was just complaining about being bored."

"No I wasn't."

"And you said you needed quiet," Hobbie said.

"It's time for Wes' midday puppy walk anyway," Tycho said.

"I'll try not to take too long," Luke said.

"Don't worry about it," Hobbie said as he gave Luke a slap on the shoulder. "You have Commander Emeritus status."

Luke wrinkled his nose at the title, but he was smiling. "Thanks guys, I appreciate it."

"Take your time," Tycho said. "See you later!" He led Wes and Hobbie into the hall.

"Commander Emeritus," Wes said. "I'm going to have to remember that one."

"Let's get food," Tycho said. As they turned a corner toward the mess hall, they spotted another familiar face coming their way. "Hey Wedge!"

Wedge looked over at them. "What trouble are you three about to get into?" he asked. "I thought you were in the office?"

"We were," Tycho said. "But Luke asked to use the office so he could finish his Bakura reports, which means Wes and his annoying bouncy ball can't be in there. We're getting food. Want to come?"

"Luke's in the office?"

"Yeah. Bakura reports. Said they were overdue. Want to get food with us?"

"Ah, I'll catch up with you later," Wedge said. "Got an errand to run."

Tycho threw a glance at Wes and Hobbie and shrugged. "Okay," he said, "we'll see you later."

About ten minutes later, sitting at the end of a mess hall table, Hobbie pointed across the room. "Look who it is," he said.

Tycho and Wes turned around to look at the serving line to see Wedge walking out with two to-go plates. "Ha," Wes said. "I wonder if he knows he's a terrible liar."

"Oh leave him alone,"Tycho said. "They haven't caught up in a while."

"Neither have we," Wes pointed out.

"Mind your own business."

* * *

Luke stared at his still-blank reports. He couldn't focus. It had been a month since Endor and he still hadn't had time to sit and think through everything that had happened. Leia didn't want to talk about it. Every time he tried to talk to her about it, she waved him off with a reminder to not to tell anyone about it until they agreed how to think about it. Of course, they couldn't agree on how to think about it until they talked about it, which made Luke think it was all just Leia code for "don't tell anyone, anywhere, ever." Luke couldn't really blame her. Her experiences with… everything… had been far more negative than his. She wasn't really ready to accept Luke's more sympathetic stance.

He couldn't really talk to Han either. He didn't really grasp the more Force related aspects of it. And he was trying to be supportive of Leia, which Luke did appreciate. She needed him and Luke suspected they did talk about it. Which was great. But it left Luke feeling a bit isolated. And aside from all of that, the events at Bakura had made Luke realize that there was so much more the galaxy needed from a Jedi than he felt prepared for. Diplomacy was Leia's talent. He was just a farm kid from Tatooine.

What was he doing? He looked down at the desk. He sighed. Right. Bakura reports.

Luke looked up at the sound of a knock on the door, hoping it wasn't someone looking for Tycho. He reached out in the Force… and smiled a bit as he realized who it was. He waved his hand at the door, opening it. It was probably a frivolous use of the Force but Luke told himself any practice was good practice.

Wedge stepped inside, looked at the door, and looked at Luke. "Was that you?" he asked?

"Yeah, sorry," Luke said. "I knew it was you, figured I'd just...open it."

"Oh, you knew it was me…" Wedge looked curiously at the door and then back at Luke as he walked inside. "Tycho said you were working on Bakura reports. Thought you might be hungry." He set two to-go plates on the desk and pulled up another chair.

Luke had told himself he'd eat after the reports were done, as an incentive to finish. It hadn't worked. "I am actually," he said, peeking into one of the boxes.

"Any I can help you with?" Wedge asked. "I was there, you know."

Luke smiled. Wedge was always willing to help. "Probably," Luke said. "I've just been kind of unfocused, that's all."

"I heard the ground mission got a bit dicey," Wedge said.

"Yeah."

"You ended up on one of the Ssi-Ruuvi ships?"

"Yeah."

"With some kind of...parasite?"

Luke looked up at Wedge. Word got around fast. "I'm fine," he said, hoping it sounded reassuring.

Wedge leaned back and crossed his arms. "And I heard you had to get seen in the med center after I nearly blew myself with that message probe?"

"That...didn't have anything to do with that," Luke said.

"_And_ Leia said you turned yourself in to go up to the Death Star _while_ we were blowing it up, and there's a rumor going around that you fought Vader and the Emperor while you were there and killed them both."

"That's...only partly true," Luke said.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Wedge asked.

"I'm fine," Luke said.

"Right, that's why these are all done," Wedge said, tapping his finger on a datapad.

"Look, if I ever figure out what I'm doing, I'll let you know," Luke said, more sharply than he meant to. Wedge frowned at him. Luke felt bad. Wedge was the last person he wanted to be short with. He wondered how upset Leia would be if he just told Wedge. "I can't discuss it," he said. Luke caught a slight twinge of hurt from Wedge. "It's not you, I promise," he said. A shot of confusion. "It involves Leia -" more confusion "- and you can't tell anyone I just said that."

Wedge stared at him, then Luke looked away. Maybe Leia wouldn't mind _that_ much?

After a moment, Wedge pulled his chair around to the other side of the desk to sit next to Luke. Wedge glanced quickly at him, then picked up one of the datapads. Luke watched him out of the corner of his eye as he started typing out one of the reports. He had been there, after all.

"Do you remember," Luke said finally, slowly, "the first time we had a chance to talk, after the Battle of Yavin, after the ceremony, after everything was over?"

Wedge looked at him. "Of course," he said.

"Do you remember," Luke said, "how I said that my uncle had always told me that my father had been a navigator in a spice freighter, but then Obi Wan told me that my father had actually been a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars and was killed by Darth Vader?"

"Mm hm."

Luke paused and swallowed. "Turns out that wasn't entirely accurate either," Luke said.

Wedge set the datapad down and turned to face Luke. "Is your father _alive_?" Wedge asked.

"No," Luke said. "Well, not anymore."

Wedge frowned. "What happened?"

"You can't tell anyone," Luke said.

Wedge shook his head. "I won't," he said.

Luke took another deep breath. "Anakin Skywalker wasn't killed by Darth Vader," he said. "He...became Darth Vader."

Wedge's eyes widened. "Is...that what you found out when you went back for training?"

"No," Luke said. "I got it confirmed then, but I found out at Bespin, when I fought him. He told me. It was…part of the recruitment pitch. But it was true." Luke paused. "Remember you thought there was something they weren't telling me? That was it."

"Is that why you turned yourself in at Endor?" Wedge asked.

Luke nodded. He closed his eyes as he remembered. "Obi Wan and Yoda told me I had to kill him. Told me the Emperor would win if I didn't. I told them I couldn't do it. I went there because I thought I could turn him away from the Emperor, not to fight anyone. I did end up fighting him though. The Emperor wanted me to kill him too. His way of making _me _his next apprentice. I did almost kill him. I...lost control for a moment. But I stopped. I caught myself. I even tossed my lightsaber aside. I wouldn't do it. The Emperor was furious. He - I didn't even realize this was possible - he used the Force to shoot _lightning_ at me."

"Lightning?" Wedge asked.

"Yeah." Luke looked at him. "That's what they made me stay in the med center for. 'Severe electrical exposure' I think they labeled it." Luke ran a hand through his hair. "It would have killed me," he said. "Except…he got up - Vader, Anakin - I did injure him - he got up, grabbed the Emperor from behind, threw him down an open reactor shaft next to us. He caught some of the lightning too. The suit - it really was a life support suit - got damaged. That's what killed him." He looked at Wedge again.

Wedge stared at him. "He saved you," Wedge said finally.

"Yeah." Luke shrugged. "Except now everyone thinks I fought some kind of grand, epic battle against the two most powerful, evil people in the universe, and won. Which...isn't what happened at all."

"What does that have to do with Leia?" Wedge asked.

Luke sighed. "That's the other thing I found out when I went back to Dagobah," he said. "Apparently," he said, "she is my sister."

"What?!"

"We're twins," Luke said. "We got separated when we were born to hide us from the Emperor."

Wedge's eyes widened as he thought for a moment. "So that means he's also her -"

"Yup."

Wedge grimaced. "I can see why she wouldn't want anyone to know about that," he said.

"Yeah."

"How did she end up on Alderaan and you on Tatooine?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't ask that question. I didn't ask a lot of questions. And the more I think about it, the more questions I come up with. And there's no one _to _ask. Leia doesn't want to talk about it, at least not with me." Luke paused. "It feels like who I am keeps changing."

Wedge slid his chair closer to Luke and put his hand on Luke's shoulder. "Luke, that isn't true. You're the same person you've always been." Wedge leaned in closer. "You've been my best friend for four years. I know who you are."

Luke looked up at him. The only other person to ever describe him as a best friend was Biggs.

Wedge continued. "You were my friend when I needed one the most, after the Battle of Yavin. You've always made Tycho feel at home here, even when other people were skeptical. You're always the one who makes Wes think he's funny. You always make sure Hobbie gets heard when he has something to say. You're always the one who looks for the good in people. That isn't new. You're the kindest person I know." Luke didn't know what to say.

"Even Biggs used to tell us all the time what a good person you are," Wedge said. "This is who you've _always_ been."

Luke smiled a bit, remembering his friend. That all seemed like lifetimes ago. Someone else's lifetime. He sighed. "I wish I knew where I came from," he said.

"Do you think your aunt and uncle knew?" Wedge asked.

"I don't know," Luke said. "My uncle told me that he was my father's step brother. But I don't even know if that's true. For all I know they were just two people who agreed to take in a baby." Luke shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe...maybe they did know. Maybe…" Luke paused. "Maybe that's why I was never allowed to leave for the Academy." Luke nodded as he considered this. "They knew exactly what would happen if someone with the name 'Skywalker' showed up at the Academy." He looked at Wedge. "They knew."

"They were protecting you," Wedge said.

"They died protecting me." He looked at his hands. "They had no idea where I was that morning. I said goodbye to my aunt. I didn't tell her where I was going, that R2 had run off on me. The last thing I said to my uncle was a complaint the night before about not being allowed to leave." He looked at Wedge.

"That's not your fault," Wedge said.

"But it seems to keep happening," Luke said. "They died protecting me. Obi Wan died so we could get off the Death Star. My father died protecting me from the Emperor. Biggs died protecting me from -" Luke stopped and shook his head. "This is so screwed up," he said. "Even that kid out at Bakura, Dev, died making sure the Ssi-Ruuk wouldn't kill me." He looked at Wedge. "I'm not letting it happen again," he said.

"Luke, none of those things are your fault."

"I'm not letting it happen again," Luke repeated firmly. He looked around the room and rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't even know where to start," he said.

"You need to do one thing at a time," Wedge said.

"Yeah, I need to get these reports done," Luke said, giving one of the datapads a small push with his finger.

"No, that's not what you need to do." Wedge reached in front of Luke and pulled one of the to-go plates in front of him. "When was the last time you ate, anyway?"

"I don't know. Yesterday?" Luke said.

"Yesterday?! No wonder," Wedge said. He pulled all the datapads closer to him. "You eat, I'll do these, and you can edit them when I'm done, okay?"

Luke held Wedge's gaze for a moment. "I don't know if I can be everything everyone needs me to be," he said.

"You just need to be you," Wedge said. "That's all."

"What if that's not enough?"

Wedge took a moment to answer. "One thing at a time, okay?"

Luke took a deep breath and looked inside the to-go plate. Some kind of pasta with white sauce and vegetables. It smelled good. "Yeah. One thing at a time."


End file.
